


The Mad Scientist

by Slice_of_Apple



Series: Scouts vs Zombies [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Angry Jean Kirstein, Bickering, Blood and Injury, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, Idiots in Love, Kidnapping, M/M, Sweet, Violence, it's really a sappy love story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28265487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slice_of_Apple/pseuds/Slice_of_Apple
Summary: An injured Jean is sent home from the elite zombie-fighting unit he was previously roped into joining. However, their enemies aren't done with him yet.
Relationships: Jean Kirstein/Eren Yeager
Series: Scouts vs Zombies [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2070699
Comments: 20
Kudos: 65





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of another fic, Scouts vs. Zombies. It’s not quite a direct continuation, and there are some (I hope minor) discrepancies. Because of those I posted this separately. 
> 
> If you don’t want to read that one (and who could blame you? It’s a slog!), in brief (but leaving out spoilers) Jean is a graduate student who stumbles upon and then joins an elite zombie-fighting unit (the Scouts). 
> 
> This one starts with Jean waking up injured in a military hospital after he and Eren escape from being kidnapped and dragged into zombie territory.
> 
> tags may change

“Hello, Jean,” says Armin, a bright smile on his face. Funny, though, the smile doesn’t seem to be reaching his eyes. Jean’s feeling pretty muzzy, so maybe his vision isn’t working one hundred percent.

Jean doesn’t care too much about Armin right now, though. There’s someone else he’s much more interested in.

“Eren?” he croaks.

A shadow passes over Armin’s face.

“Ah, yes. I am happy to tell you that Eren is doing better. He’s resting now.

Jean frowns. “Where is he?” he asks, in his raspy voice. “I want to see him.”

“I’m sorry, Jean.”

“What are you sorry about?” Jean doesn’t understand.

“Eren does not want to see you.” Jean’s eyes shoot open. _What?!_

Armin is looking at the floor. Is he staring at the floor because he’s lying? Or because he feels sorry for Jean? Jean doesn’t know. He’s too weak and tired to deal with subtleties. 

He tries to remember. He and Eren were fighting the zombies. And Eren thought Jean had – had misled him. But then… but then Eren _knew_ that Jean hadn’t, right? There was something on a rooftop. Zombie Eren carrying Jean. And Jean fell. That’s why his leg hurts. It’s throbbing painfully now.

Wasn’t Eren here in this room before? He closes his eyes tightly, as if that will help his memory return. Eren was… he was lying down next to Jean. Wasn’t he? He was… smiling. And he said – something. About… about never – never _leaving_. Was it a dream? It’s a hazy mess in Jean’s mind.

“He was here already, wasn’t he?” asks Jean. “Eren was here, with me.” He looks around frantically, hunting for clues. Or is he only trying to convince himself because he wants it to be true? 

Armin looks at him impassively. Finally, he says, “As I’m sure you can understand, Eren is extremely important to our mission. We can’t afford for him to be compromised in any way.”

This stirs Jean to protest, “ _Compromised?_ I didn’t compromise him. You mean- with Reiner and Bertholdt?” It’s coming back to him. Reiner and Bertholdt ambushing them on the roof. “But I didn’t know anything about them. I wasn’t with them.” Armin doesn’t answer. His mouth is set in a rigid line. 

An image of Eren’s twisted face saying “I _trusted_ you,” rises up in Jean’s mind. Why was he saying that? Does Eren really think that Jean _betrayed_ him? Is that why he doesn’t want to see him?

“Please!” Jean pleads. “I have to see him. I have to talk to him. He needs to know I didn’t deceive him. Please!” Jean finds himself trying to climb out of bed, to get away from the image of Eren’s wounded face. To fall at Armin’s feet. To _beg_. As he moves, a razor-sharp pain constricts his chest, stopping him in his tracks. He leans back into the pillow, panting feebly.

“Please,” he says again, weakly. Armin doesn’t speak, but his stiff, unyielding face is all the answer Jean needs.

“I just want to talk to him.” He’s embarrassed to hear the wobble in his voice. “Just once.” He feels so helpless. His head is pounding, and the room is spinning. He can’t seem to catch his breath, either. He just wants Eren here next to him, wants to see that Eren’s all right. Armin’s image blurs. Jean is horrified to feel tears pricking his eyes. He turns his face away.

“It’s not possible for you to see Eren again,” Armin says with finality. “You’ll be going back home as soon as you’re able to travel. Your return to graduate school has been delayed until the second semester to allow you time to recover from your injuries. As Captain Levi told you previously, all will return to normal. Thank you for your service.” The door slams behind him.

Jean can’t help it. He’s exhausted, his chest is killing him, and he’s emotionally overwrought. He pulls the pillow over his head and bursts into tears. With each sob there is a stabbing pain in his chest.

It turns out that he has six broken ribs in addition to the broken leg. It takes three days for him to get medical clearance for the trip home.


	2. Chapter 2

It’s very strange for Jean to be back at his parent’s house. He hasn’t lived here year-round since he went to college, years ago. Everything is just as it was when he left: the shops, the people, even many of his old high school friends. There isn’t any hint of zombie activity here, so far from the epicenter.

He doesn’t like this, falling back into his past life. It makes his time in the Scouts seem unreal, dream-like – as though it never happened.

“Fancy letting students get into serious fights,” is all his mother says about his injuries. He doesn’t know what story his parents have been told, but he doesn’t want to talk about it with them. He doesn’t want to talk about anything much. Or do much, either.

Even though his ribs heal, and eventually his leg heals, too, he has a lingering lassitude he can’t seem to shake. He wakes up at 6 every morning but doesn’t get out of bed until after 10. He spends his days wandering aimlessly- around his parent’s house, around the neighborhood, around the small college town they live in. He could ask for his old job back at the pizzeria, but he can’t really be bothered. Until he starts school again mid-year, he doesn’t have any responsibilities, and he’s happy to keep it that way as long as he can.

His parents can see that something happened, something beyond his physical injuries, and for some reason they are content to let him drift along, healing (they hope) at his own pace.

He knows that he’s become completely pathetic, but he can’t muster the energy to get worked up about it. He tells himself that he just needs some time to regain his footing after having the world turn so completely upside down.

As time passes, the memories of the summer seem more and more insubstantial. So he doesn’t understand why Eren keeps showing up in his dreams. He was just a guy, after all. A guy Jean doesn’t even know that well.

Their parents are at work. Chloe happens to be eating lunch in the kitchen when Jean makes his way down for breakfast.

Ever since Jean has been back, Chloe has been troubled in a way she doesn’t quite understand. Her brother is different than he was before he left for graduate school.

Jean has always been on an upwards trajectory: highly successful at sports, in school, at basically anything he tried. When he first came back home, obviously broken, a part of her that she isn’t particularly proud of was happy to see him taken down a peg. But now he looks so lost. She’s tried teasing him once or twice, much like they used to do when they were younger, but all he’s done in return is wilt. It felt like pricking a balloon. He cries in his sleep, too. She heard him again last night.

“Who’s Eren?” she asks.

“What?” Jean is startled out of his apathy. He stares at her, wide-eyed. All that “just a guy” crap Jean’s been feeding himself flies right out the window with the sound of Eren’s name on Chloe’s lips.

“You had a nightmare last night. You called out her name.” Screamed it out is more like it, but Chloe’s trying to be gentle here.

Jean doesn’t correct her. It’s probably not a good idea to talk about Eren at all, but the pronoun switch might offer some small layer of protection.

“Someone from… the summer,” he mumbles.

“Someone you care about?” she asks tentatively. This is the first time Jean has engaged with her since he’s been back, and she wants to keep the conversation going.

“Yeah. Someone I care about,” he says. It’s an enormous relief to admit it. Yes, he does care about Eren. A great deal. But the admission doesn’t come without pain. Will he ever see Eren again? He doesn’t think so.

“Do you want to talk about her?” Chloe asks. Jean tilts his head, looking at Chloe. For the first time since he’s been back, he really sees her. She looks different than she did before. Older. She grew up while he was away, and he hadn’t even noticed. He’s been too wrapped up in himself. He feels a stab of guilt. 

“Let’s go get coffee,” she suggests.

He surprises himself by agreeing. He wants to go.

They walk down to the coffee shop. It’s nice, walking next to Chloe. His leg hardly hurts at all, and his ribs are fully healed. He’s able to breathe in easily, and the fresh air wakes him up further.

“So, what does she look like?” asks Chloe, to get the ball rolling.

_Dazzling, gorgeous, sparkling,_ thinks Jean. But all he says is, “I dunno.” A pause. “Dark hair. Green eyes.” _Eyes you could easily drown in._

“What was she like, this dark-haired beauty?” asks Chloe, grinning up at her brother.

_Annoying. Stubborn._ _Perfect._ “Uh, interesting. Committed.”

Chloe gives him a look. “ _Interesting_?” she says incredulously. “ _Committed?_ ”

“H-she _is_ ,” says Jean defensively.

Chloe arches an eyebrow.

“Maybe also a bit crazy,” he mumbles.

Chloe doesn’t push for more details, even though she loves that kind of crap. She’s always been a sucker for romantic gossip. 

“What happened?” asks Chloe.

“I got hurt and left,” says Jean.

“I mean, what happened with Eren?”

Jean doesn’t answer. What happened with Eren, indeed? _Eren is a zombie. I almost got him killed. He thinks I betrayed him. He saved me anyway. He didn’t want to see me again._

“I… don’t know. Some stuff happened. And I never got to say goodbye. I miss… her. I miss her a lot.”

“You really like her, don’t you?” She’s never seen her brother like this, so open and vulnerable. 

“Yeah,” he nods. “I really do.”

“Can you write her a letter? Tell her the things you didn’t get to say in person?”

“A letter?” he says, thinking it over in his own mind. “I don’t think a letter will reach her.”

Chloe doesn’t understand this. There’s no reason the university campus wouldn’t receive mail. But all she says is, “Why don’t you write it anyway? It’ll probably help you feel better. It always helps me to write things down.”

“Right. Your journal.”

“Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it,” she laughs, hitting her shoulder against his.

Jean nods his head. Maybe he will. What does he have to lose? 

“When did you get to be such a smartypants?” he asks.

“What do you mean, “get to be”? I’ve always been a smartypants.”

“Thanks, Chloe.” When he smiles at her, some of the old brightness is back in his eyes. Chloe thinks she’s probably made up, at least a little bit, for her jealousy from before. 

It takes Jean forever to write the letter, even though he knows it won’t ever reach Eren. Armin, Captain Levi, Mikasa, or some stranger will read it and stop it from reaching Eren. When he thinks about their eyes on the letter, he can’t write a thing. So instead he decides to write a letter that he isn’t going to send.

_Dear Eren,_

_I love your beautiful eyes. I love your smile. I love how strong you are in so many ways. I’m sad I never got to tell you. I miss you like crazy. It’s killing me that I’m never going to see you again. You’re haunting my dreams._  
  


He writes it all out, in a mad rush. When he’s done, he can’t believe that he wrote such utterly stupid, cheesy slush. It’s straight out of some horrible fifty-cent romance novel. Yet, he can’t bring himself to tear it up. Even though it’s ridiculously over-the-top mushy crap, it still feels _right_. He feels a need to keep it, as a testament to the truth: _his_ truth. So he folds the paper up into a small square and writes “To Eren” on the outside. He promises himself that this letter will never again see the light of day as he stuffs it under everything else in his bottom drawer.

He decides he also wants to write an actual letter to Eren. This comes easier, now that he’s gotten his real feelings out.

_Dear Eren,_

_I wish I had gotten to see you before I left. I miss you._

_-Jean_

He looks it over, then rewrites it without the last sentence, about missing Eren.

He has Chloe address the letter to Mikasa, and he folds it up inside another envelope, disguised as a marketing flyer. He’s not sure why he does this; it’s childish, and so idiotic it couldn’t possibly work, but he does it anyway. He’s also not sure why he picks Mikasa, with her hard, stony, angel face; but somehow, of any of them, he feels that she is the one most likely to give it to Eren.

After he sends the letter, he feels better, despite knowing that nothing will ever come of it.

Merely having taken action snaps him out of the torpor he was in. He starts getting out of bed when he wakes up at 6. Then he starts running again. They’re slow, short jogs at first, gently stretching his leg. He gradually extends them, until he finds that he can run long and hard enough to actually feel good.

He eventually moves on to re-reading what he’s written of his dissertation. He’s going to have to throw out at least half of it, now that he knows that the information is inaccurate. He finds himself excited rather than intimidated by the prospect. Some part of his mind has decided, while it’s been hibernating during this strange, stagnant time, that he’s not done with the Scouts. He doesn’t know when, or how, or where he’s going to reconnect with that organization, but he’s going to do everything in his power to make it happen.

With this new goal spurring him on, he starts going to the local college library every morning after his run. To gather more information.

One of the first things he does is try find out more about Eren’s father, because he's so clearly at the heart of the whole zombie plague. He pieces the basic facts together quickly.

Dr. Grisha Jaeger was a government scientist, heading a lab in Shiganshina up until the zombie outbreak. He seems to have been particularly well-known for his groundbreaking work in virology, particularly in the area of viral vaccines. He died early in the zombie plague.

Jean prints out some of his more prominent papers, and slogs painfully through them. He can’t understand half of the scientific jargon, but he does piecetogether that Dr. Jaeger's work involved the used of viral vectors for the purposes of genetic manipulation.

Hmm. Interesting. He wonders if Eren's zombification process involves genetic manipulation. He starts moving through the papers even more slowly, trying to get his brain to understand what it all means and how it all fits together. He knows that the journal they took from Dr. Jaeger's basement would give him a lot more answers, but he doesn't have access to that, at least not yet, and he's going to learn everything else he can in the meantime. 

After a few weeks, Jean notices that he is walking around with a constant, inexplicable sense of anticipation. He finally realizes that it has to do with the letter he sent out. He tries to talk himself out of any naive hope; it’s foolish to think that the letter will make its way to Eren. Nonetheless, Jean can’t stop himself from thinking, _hoping,_ that he’ll get some kind of response from _someone._

.

When he does, it’s not the response he wanted.

He’s busy organizing his notes on the chronology of the initial zombie events in Shiganshina when his phone rings.

“Chloe?” he asks. “You need a ride home?” Jean’s been serving as Chloe’s chauffeur a lot lately. She’s chomping at the bit to get her driver’s license, but she won’t even be able to get her learner’s permit until next year.

“J-J-J-Jean?” Her voice is breathless. Frightened.

He looks around wildly, as if he will be able to see her. “Chloe? What’s wrong?” He’s already starting to panic, because he knows. Even before she says another word, he knows.

“Jean. He – he’s got a knife. I think he’s going to k-k-k-kill me.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Chloe!”

There is a small whimper, and a rough voice comes on.

“Hi there, loverboy. I’ve got your sister here.”

“Reiner?” Jean feels as though he’s been punched in the gut. “Reiner, you fucker, you leave her alone, I’m going to –“

Reiner interrupts him. “Shut up and listen closely, I’m only going to say this once. You come right now to the corner of 12th and Brewster. Behind the church. Alone. If you talk to anyone, she dies. If you call anyone, she dies. If you aren’t here in the next 7 minutes, she dies.” The phone clicks off.

Jean’s heart is pumping a furious staccato rhythm. He flies out the door, down the steps, and sprints like a madman to the church.

Reiner looks like a rabid dog, his eyes flashing wildly, almost rolling in his head. Jean wouldn’t be surprised to see foam coming out of his mouth.

“Let her go. You want me.” Jean speaks as calmly as he can through heaving breaths.

“Why shouldn’t I have the both of you?” Reiner growls. “A little extra insurance never hurt.”

He motions Jean into the car.

“Now!” he barks.

“Where’s Bertholdt?” asks Jean. He instantly regrets it as an image of zombie-Bertholdt’s head rolling off of his body flashes briefly into his mind.

“Shut up, motherfucker,” grunts Reiner, kicking Jean viciously into the car. He lands in the backseat with a thump. Reiner immediately ties both their hands to the headrests. Luckily, it’s a short journey, because it’s extremely uncomfortable for both of them. They do their best to lift their weight off their bound hands, but every jolt of the car wrenches them painfully.

Reiner parks in the back of a house Jean doesn’t recognize. He tries not to think about the fact that Reiner is allowing them to see everything, because there’s only one conclusion to be drawn from this: that Reiner doesn’t think they’re going to be around long enough to pose a threat. 

“What are you doing? Where are we? Where are you taking us?” Jean asks, as Reiner manhandles them through the back door of the house.

“The three of us are going to take a little trip to 9 Rose Lane.”

Jean’s eyes goggle: he's going to freaking take them into zombie territory! Reiner doesn’t give him much time to think about this, though.

“Then we’re going to visit the original Mad Scientist.”

Jean stares at him in confusion. A glimmer of memory shines briefly in his mind: _The son of the original mad scientist._ That’s what Reiner and Bertholdt had called Eren.

“You mean… Eren’s father? Dr. Jaeger? But - but he’s dead!”

Reiner laughs wildly. “Nope! Turns out he’s alive and kicking. Hidden in plain sight. Not too far from the house, either. He took over the old high school. Right smack in zombie territory. You’re gonna have a blast, meeting him. But I’ve got a couple of things to take care of first, so you two are going to have to sit tight for a little while.”

He ties them to opposite ends of the radiator and leaves, locking the door behind him.

Jean feels dazed, like he's been hit over the head. Could Reiner be telling the truth, that Dr. Jaeger is indeed _alive_? He forces himself to put the thought aside and focus on escape. His heart sinks a little once he gets a good look at the ropes. There’s no way he’s going to be able wiggle out of those knots. 

His eyes frantically scour the room. It’s completely bare, and the solitary window has bars on it.

He doesn’t see how they can possibly get out of this room, let alone the house.

But Jean also knows with absolute certainty that Chloe cannot get back in that car. If she does, she’s dead. He has to get her free before then. He _has_ to. 

He’s going to have to make it happen in transit, when they’re leaving. If he can immobilize Reiner, even for a few seconds, he can give Chloe enough time to flee. If Reiner doesn’t have an accomplice. And if he doesn’t drug them. Or shoot them. Or otherwise seriously injure them.

That's a lot of “ifs.”

Jean forcibly yanks his mind back from the brink of a full-fledged panic attack. He needs his wits about him right now. He can’t afford to fall apart.

He's snapped into the present by the sound of Chloe’s short, gasping breaths. He'd better do something about that, and quick. They can’t afford for her to fall apart, either.

“Chloe.” His voice is low and urgent. “Chloe!” Her eyes turn slowly towards him.

“J-J-J-Jean?” she says, in a trembling voice. Jean doesn’t let her obvious terror distract him. He’s in game mode now, and every second counts.

“I know this is a frightening situation. You’ve got to hold it together. When the moment comes, I’m going to create a – a diversion, and you have to get away, OK? You might only have a few seconds to do it. You’re going to have to run as fast as you can and find help.”

Chloe’s eyes are enormous in the dim light.

Jean kicks her lightly in the shin. There’s no time to waste.

“Answer me. You got that?”

She draws in a ragged breath.

“Ye-ye-yeah,” she whispers. 

“Repeat it back to me.”

She takes a deep breath in. “You’re going to… make a…a… diversion, and I’m going to… run.”

Jean nods encouragingly, then continues. “The police probably won’t be able to help much. But once you're safe, can you contact the Scouts? Where I was over the summer. Mikasa – remember, you wrote out the letter to her? Her name and address are in my book. Mikasa Ackerman. It's important for her to know that Reiner did this. You got that?”

She nods.

“What did I say?”

“I’ll tell the Scouts about Reiner. M-M-”

“Mikasa Ackerman.”

“Mikasa Ackerman. I'll tell her.”

The Scouts better do something to keep his family safe. After all, they're the reason Chloe is in this fucking mess. And Jean's not going to be around to protect them. Thinking this reminds him that he has something else to say to Chloe.

“Chloe. Listen to me. Listen hard. Are you listening?” He waits until she nods. “He would have gotten me anyway, no matter what you did. None of this is your fault. Do you understand that?”

She nods, even though he's not sure she believes him. He knows she's calming down, though, because she's able to ask a question. "Why does he want you?”

“He doesn’t want me. He wants someone else. He’s just using me as bait. The way he used you.”

“Who does he want?” she asks. As soon as the words are out of her mouth, she knows. “Eren,” she breathes.

Jean’s mouth is set in a grim line. “Yeah. If this guy gets hold of Eren, it’s really bad. Much worse than him having me. So if – if Eren happens to come – to come looking for me, please, will you tell him,”- Chloe starts slightly at the pronoun- “not to come after me? And make sure Mikasa knows, too. That Eren shouldn't come after me."

Shit. Is he totally screwing up here, giving her too many instructions? Making things too complicated? He takes a deep breath, tries to calm down and think straight. Focus on the essentials.

"That's really important, Chloe. That Eren not get caught by Reiner. Do you understand?”

She nods.

“What did I say?”

“For Eren not to go after you.”

He lets out a relieved breath. He hopes she'll remember. He tries to offer a little reassurance, calm her down some more.

"I'm going to be fine, okay? Reiner needs me alive. And I’ll be able to get away from him." He hopes he is saying this as confidently as he needs to. “Reiner is a crazy psycho, but I’ve escaped from him before, and I can do it again.”

He’s not sure what compels him to say what he says next. Maybe it’s because he’s going to die, and he wants Eren to _know_. It’s stupid, and it’s unfair- why dump that on someone after you’re dead? But he can’t help being selfish about it.

“And there’s – there’s another letter, in my desk. In the bottom drawer. Under everything else. Folded up, so it’s small. It has Eren’s name on it. If he i- if he happens to come, can you- can you give it to him?”

Chloe nods again, then looks up at him, her eyes wide. 

“Jean…. What happened to you… last summer?”

He wishes he could tell her everything. It would be such a relief to get it all off his chest, to have someone else share the burden of knowledge. But not only would it be unfair to her, it would further endanger her life.

“I’m sorry. I can’t say.”

She seems to hear the genuine regret in his voice.

“But it’s all going to be fine. You're going to escape soon, and I'm going to escape later.”

She doesn’t look convinced (she’s no dummy), but she doesn't argue with him.

It goes remarkably smoothly. As Reiner is bundling them to the car, Jean is able to throw his bound arms over Reiner’s head, strangling him.

“Go!” he urges Chloe. “Go!”

It’s a short struggle; Jean loses, as he expects. He’s surprised that he’s able to incapacitate Reiner as long as he does, though. Chloe has more than enough time to stumble away.

Reiner has a slight grin on his face as he slams Jean into the car. Jean realizes, too late, that Reiner wanted her to escape. To lay the trap. To tell Eren where they’d be.

Jean played directly into his hands. Just like last time. _What an idiot I am_ he thinks, as Reiner’s handkerchiefed hand closes over his mouth, and he sinks into oblivion. 


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as she sees the green eyes, Chloe knows who it is. Her first thought is, _It worked_. She’d only left a message for Mikasa last night, once she was done with the police and her parents had finally gone to sleep. They had both been absolute wrecks, but they had taken the pills the doctor prescribed and had eventually passed out. They are still asleep in fact, this early in the morning.

Chloe had tried various numbers for Mikasa, had been put on hold countless times, circled back to multiple operators, and had eventually left a message that she hoped was cryptic enough to provide security, but with enough information that Mikasa would call her back. She hadn’t.

Chloe’s next thought is _No wonder Jean fell for him._ Eren is the most beautiful person she has ever seen in her life. It’s not just that he is extraordinarily good looking. He has a kind of wild, untrammeled energy about him, like a hurricane, or a tidal wave. Jean’s words come back to her. _A bit crazy_ , indeed.

“Eren?” she asks.

He looks up, surprised, and for a moment she is lost in the intensity of his gaze. He stares at her for what seems like a long time.

The coloring usually throws people off. While Jean is all shiny, golden highlights, Chloe has pale skin and a mass of dark hair. But Eren’s eyes take in the thin, oval face, the aquiline nose, the pointed chin; all the features she shares with Jean.

“ _You_ addressed the letter,” he says at last. “ _Chloe._ ”

“Yeah,” she says. 

“Is Jean here?”

It hits her like a ton of bricks. _Eren doesn’t know._ He’s here to see Jean because of the letter she mailed. Because _Eren cares_ , too.

She starts to cry.

Eren puts an arm around her and tucks her into his side. His solid weight is comforting, and she is able to slow the tears enough to get some words out.

“A-a-a guy came. Reiner.”

At the name, Eren freezes. Chloe almost can’t go on – what a fool she was! “And – and- “ the tears are starting up again “- I was so stupid, I thought he was flirting with me. He was ch-charming.” She isn’t making excuses, but she wants Eren to understand.

“He is,” says Eren.

“He grabbed me.”

“Did he hurt you?” Eren asks, moving to the side to look at her carefully.

She shakes her head. “Not physically. Aside from tying me up. He didn’t want me, after all. I was the lure.”

“Yeah,” says Eren. “That’s what he does.”

“He’s doing the same thing with Jean,” she can’t help but point out, even though she doesn’t want to. “My brother said – “ she starts, then hesitates. But she owes Jean that much, regardless of her own feelings. “He said for you not to go after him. He was very clear about that.” She says it reluctantly because she _wants_ Eren to go. She wants Eren to storm in with his crazy, wild energy and his glowing eyes, and Get Her Brother Back. She must have said this last bit out loud, because Eren immediately answers.

“Of course I’m going to get your brother back.” Chloe doesn’t know how he can say this so convincingly. Reiner scared the hell out of her. But somehow, she believes that he believes he can do it. And that in itself is reassuring.

Eren smiles at her. Chloe’s breath catches. She can’t imagine what Eren’s smile has done to Jean. Because even this one, given so easily to a virtual stranger, clutches her heart and squeezes it painfully. No wonder Jean was such a wreck when he first came home.

“Do you know where Reiner is going?” Eren’s voice is very calm, but there is an undercurrent of steel in it, and Chloe shivers slightly.

“Reiner said he’s taking him to… it was an address… the name of an… um… a flower…”

“9 Rose Lane?”

“Yes! That was it!”

Even as she’s speaking, Eren is gathering himself together. He’s leaving.

Chloe grabs his arm. “Jean told me to tell someone else. Mikasa Ackerman. I’ve tried. But I couldn’t reach her.”

Eren stills for a moment, then pulls out his phone. “Call her on this. Tell her everything you told me.”

“Oh – okay. But don’t you need a phone?”

He smiles again. “Don’t worry about me,” he says. 

Chloe knows he’s about to disappear.

“Wait!” she cries. She can’t believe she almost forgot. “Don’t go. Promise me. Please! I’ll be right back.”

She waits for Eren’s brief, impatient nod, then runs into the house. A few minutes later and she is clattering back down the stairs and out the door.

“He left you this.” She hands Eren the tiny, folded-up letter. He takes it, reading the words printed on the outside: _To Eren_. His expression is unreadable.

“Are you going to open it?” she asks hopefully. Despite the circumstances, Chloe wants to know what’s inside. She is a hopeless romantic, and she knows that if this thing between her brother and Eren is anything, it’s Romance with a capital “R”. 

He flashes a grin at her, shakes his head and tucks the letter into one of his pockets. Then he’s gone, loping down the street in in long, easy strides, like a wolf.

Reiner drives for hours, Jean falling into a stupefied doze in the back. Much later, in the dead of night, Reiner yanks him out and stuffs him into what looks like a zombie-proofed hummer. He gives Jean some water, which is nice, but nothing to eat, which is not so great.

Jean eventually falls back asleep, lying down on the seat.

When Jean awakens, the vehicle isn’t moving anymore. He rises haltingly to a sitting position. He has to close his eyes against a wave of dizziness.

There is a weak light all around, and he thinks it must be very early in the morning. He shivers in the chill air.

Looking out the windows, he sees that Reiner has parked on a residential street.A street he recognizes faintly. Rose Lane. He shudders slightly. _Shit_.

The telltale smell of zombies is all about him, although there don’t seem to be any in the immediate vicinity. His brain feels stupid and slow, like he’s underwater.

His hands are still tied, but they’re not tied to anything in the car. He really could just open the door and get out. That doesn’t seem right. Would Reiner leave him alone in this car and simply disappear? Could Reiner himself have been unexpectedly attacked? Maybe even killed? Jean peers into the front seat. No keys that he can see. If only he knew how to hotwire a hummer. But he doesn’t. And the ropes are really tight.

He clumsily opens the door and steps out on wobbly feet. He walks a few feet up to the door of Eren’s old house.

There is a loud gasp.

Jean whirls around and he thinks his heart is going to stop beating, all at once, like he’s been shot.

Because it’s Eren.

But it doesn’t stop beating, in fact, it starts clattering along at breakneck speed. He didn’t think he’d ever get to see Eren again. He’s drinking in the sight – Eren’s too-long hair, his round face, his eyes.

In the next instance, his mind catches up. _What the fuck?!!!!_ If Eren had stayed away, he would be _safe_. Why couldn’t he have followed Jean’s instructions? 

“What the hell are you doing here, you idiot?” Jean demands. It’s taking a great deal of effort to not let the sparkling happiness at the mere sight of Eren overtake him, which makes him even angrier. He doesn’t have energy to spare for this crap.

“Happy to see you, too,” says Eren, the brilliant smile dying on his face. He is clearly taken aback by the greeting.

What was he expecting? A medal? For the unbelievably moronic move of playing right into Reiner’s hands?

Jean can’t stop himself from expressing this exact thought. “What were you expecting? A medal? For the unbelievably moronic move of playing right into Reiner’s hands?”

Eren flushes. “You expected me to stay away while he potentially tortured and killed you?”

“You know he wasn’t going to kill me. He needs me to get you. At least, he _needed_ me to get you. Now he doesn’t need me anymore, does he? So if I’m dead before morning, it’s _all your fault!”_

Eren snorts.

“Get out of here!” Jean makes shooing motions with his bound hands. “Get out of here. Right now. Before he comes back.”

“Now you’re being ridiculous,” Eren says, moving towards Jean, a look of utter exasperation on his face. “I’m not leaving without you.” He reaches out and grabs the rope with one hand, yanking out a knife with the other.

“I’m serious. Get the fuck out of here!” Jean pulls away from Eren, making it harder for Eren to cut the ropes. “There’s still time, if he doesn’t see you.”

“Christ, Jean! Stop moving!”

“No!” says Jean obstinately. Jean doesn’t know why he’s acting like this, but he can’t seem to stop himself. Maybe it’s because he’s so very happy to see Eren again, and maybe it’s because he wants Eren to be safe, and maybe it’s because he doesn’t want to allow hope to flare into his chest after he had already resigned himself to dying. Whatever it is, it causes him to stumble backwards. And then, because he’s still dizzy and weak, not to mention overwhelmed by the situation, he falls backwards onto the ground. It hurts, too. A lot.

“Holy hell,” swears Eren under his breath. He crouches down, catching hold of Jean’s hands once more. “You are the stubbornest bastard I have ever met.”

“Speak for yourself,” mutters Jean, still trying to pull away.

“Hold still, dammit! I don’t want to clip one of your fingers.” Jean stops struggling. What’s the use, anyway? Eren has already put himself in mortal danger.

Eren is still carefully slicing through the ropes, when an unpleasantly familiar voice speaks out.

“I can always count on Jean.”

There is the slightest whine in the air, followed by a second one, as two darts find their marks. Eren just has time to cradle Jean’s head as it hits the ground before falling heavily on top of him. 


	5. Chapter 5

Jean wakes up on the floor in the back of the hummer. The light coming in through the windows is still dim – he’s only been out a short time. He’s wondering why he feels so cramped when he realizes that there’s another body lying half across his.

He is relieved beyond measure when the body moves slightly, and a familiar voice lets out a slight groan.

If he rolls over and wiggles a bit, he finds that he can breathe into Eren’s ear, “Strong move, asshole.”

Eren stiffens. “Can you try to be a little more constructive?” he whispers back. “It would be best to use this time to come up with a plan.”

“Don’t you have one already?”

There is an embarrassed silence.

“No. I was going to grab you and run out of there. Just thought it would be better to have your hands free first, although that was evidently a mistake.”

Jean is woozy from fatigue, lack of food, the sedative, and the stress of being kidnapped, but he nonetheless feels regret for foiling even that rudimentary plan.

“Sorry,” he says stiffly. He’s still annoyed with Eren, though, and can’t help tacking on a frustrated, “Why did you even come here in the first place?”

More silence.

“I didn’t want you to die,” says Eren, so quietly that Jean can hardly hear him. “I _don’t_ want you to die.”

Jean has no ready reply to this. Turns out he doesn’t want to die, either, much as he thought he had resigned himself to it.

“I didn’t betray you,” he ends up saying, because he wants to make sure Eren knows this.

“I know,” says Eren, and Jean can hear the frown in his voice.

“You do?” asks Jean.

“Yeah. Don’t you remember? Reiner and Bertholdt blabbed it when you were unconscious.”

“Did you tell me that already? Over the summer?”

Jean can feel Eren nod. “I didn’t remember.” He was probably high on painkillers at the time. “Then why didn’t you want to see me before I left?” he can’t help asking, even though the rawness in his voice is humiliating. He snaps his jaw shut before he starts doing something even worse, like crying.

“Is that what Armin told you?”

It’s Jean’s turn to nod. He hopes Eren can tell, because he doesn’t trust himself to speak.

“Fucking Armin,” says Eren.

_Fucking Armin,_ thinks Jean.

Each of them is briefly lost in his own thoughts, and in that space of time the hummer glides to a stop.

Before Jean can try to gather himself together, Reiner has forced them out of the car. Their hands are tightly bound, Eren’s behind his back, and Reiner has a knife pressed into Jean.

They are standing in front of a large, square building _, Shinganshina High School_ painted in enormous letters across the top.

Jean doesn’t see Reiner make any kind of signal, but there is a buzz, and the door slides open. They stumble in and it shuts quickly behind them. Jean shudders slightly. The interior is like the inside of any typical high school: solid grey walls, grey floor, grey windows, with the dusty air of desertion making everything look that much worse. Jean wonders idly if all high schools look like prisons, or just the ones he’s had the privilege of entering. Reiner pushes Jean forward, knife pressed into his side, motioning Eren to stay in front of them.

A figure emerges from a side corridor. The dim lighting reveals him to be a middle-aged man in glasses who is wearing a stained lab coat. His hair is grizzled, and there are deep lines etched on his face.

There is a gasp.

Jean turns to Eren, who has a look of complete shock on his face.

“ _Dad_?” he cries.

“You made it!” says the man, with the air of a host greeting guests who have dropped in for a celebratory dinner.

“Dr. Jaeger,” Reiner says, his grip on Jean’s arm tight.

“Mr. Braun, thank you for all you have done.” Grisha Jaeger bows slightly and beams at Reiner. It’s such a warm smile that it makes it all the more shocking when he points a gun straight at Reiner’s head and fires.

Reiner’s arm jerks as he falls, the knife slashing across Jean’s forearm. Reiner hits the ground with a sickening thud.

“Dad!” Eren cries out again, this time in horror.

“It’s only a stun gun, he’ll be fine,” says Dr. Jaeger soothingly. He’s obviously not concerned about Reiner’s head trauma.

It takes a moment for Jean to feel something warm dripping down his arm and through his fingers. The realization that he is bleeding does not help his dizziness. He does his best to twist his arms, trying to put pressure on the wound.

“Dad! How are you alive?”

“Eren. It is such a pleasure to see you. You have no idea! Now, come along.” Dr. Jaeger casually kicks Reiner’s body to the side.

Eren doesn’t move. “Dad, what the hell is going on? Are you a prisoner here? Have they trapped you?”

Dr. Jaeger chuckles slightly and shakes his head. “Eren, Eren. Always believing the best of people.”

“What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

“He means that he’s the brains behind this whole operation,” says Jean dully. He’s not yet so out of it that he’s lost _all_ capacity for critical thinking.

“Listen to your friend.”

Eren looks wildly from Jean to his father. He can’t seem to grasp the fact that his father is a psychotic madman. Jean doesn’t blame him. Who would face that kind of fact with poise and equanimity? Jean can guarantee that underestimating Eren’s father is going to make it a whole lot harder to get out of there, though.

“Who is this fine specimen, by the way?” asks Dr. Jaeger, eyeing Jean speculatively. “What is he - 23, 24 years old?”

He mutters, as though to himself. “I’ve been wanting to try someone older, but still limber enough for the experiment. Eren was far too young for the inoculation, but I had run out of time, and needed to act. It’s been a long time since I’ve had access to any suitable volunteers.” 

Dr. Jaeger runs his fingers through his hair. He’s probably so used to talking to himself, he may not even realize that anyone is listening to him. “Yes, yes, he would be perfect. Let’s see,” he runs a practiced eye over Jean, “about 6 feet tall, 80 kilos, although I’ll need exact measurements of course. How will the proportions change? And we need to run a full battery of tests, make sure he can withstand the inoculation.”

He steps back, clearly excited by the possibilities. He rubs his hands together enthusiastically. “Although, regardless, a trial inoculation will still yield useful information. That’s right. We’ll proceed no matter what. I can’t let this opportunity go to waste.”

Jean feels sick to his stomach. Dr. Jaeger is talking about experimenting on Jean! Turning him into a zombie! Jean sneaks a glance at Eren. His eyes are as round as saucers, and he is deathly pale. He is visibly trembling. He may be going into shock.

“Tsk. Look at your arm, Jean. Careless Mr. Braun! We must attend to that first. I’m sorry, Eren dearest, but it’s time for you to take a nap.”

“What?” Eren has time to say, before sinking to the ground.

“You, too, Jean dear.” Jean barely has time to wonder how many more times he’s going to be forced into unconsciousness – this is getting ridiculous! – before everything goes black.


	6. Chapter 6

Jean wakes up nauseous and with a pounding headache. His arm is bandaged and throbbing. He’s also locked in a cage. This neverending captivity would be hilarious if it wasn’t so frightening.

He looks over to see Eren in a similar cage.

He thinks about saying something witty and ironic to Eren about how they have to stop meeting like this, but then he can’t. For one thing, Eren is lying down, with his eyes closed. Even though his arms and hands are encased in smooth metal restraints, he seems to be asleep, and, if so, Jean would like him to get as much rest as he can. For another, Jean is too nauseated and frightened to even try to make a joke about their situation.

Luckily, both the nausea and the headache improve fairly rapidly after he gulps down the water that was left in his cage. There is also something that looks suspiciously like a bagel. Jean picks it up. Yes, it’s a bagel. Seeing it reminds him that he’s absolutely ravenous, and he stuffs it down, not even caring whether or not it could be drugged.

The food refreshes him, although it also makes him realize how hungry he still is.

It’s only a few minutes later that Dr. Jaeger enters the room. He’s wearing what looks like a paramilitary outfit, and he holds a taser in one hand. The beaming jocularity is gone. He’s all business now.

Standing in front of Jean’s cage, he says, “If you try anything remotely threatening, you will be instantly tased.”

He unlocks the door and motions Jean out as he continues speaking.

“In addition, Eren will pay for your actions. I won’t hesitate to cut off one of his toes. Or his thumbs. He can still be useful as a zombie without thumbs.”

Although he’s trying to stay cool, Jean can’t help drawing in a sharp breath. What a sick bastard - talking so casually about cutting off the thumbs of his own kid! Jean’s not sure why he’s surprised, though; didn’t Dr. Jaeger turn Eren into a zombie in the first place? There’s probably nothing he wouldn’t do in the name of Mad Science.

“We’ll have to wait a bit to draw your baseline labs – I don’t want your recent injury to affect the results. However, I can do your EKG and your echocardiogram now. Please remove your shirt.”

Jean awkwardly takes it off, his arm aching with the movement.

“Mmmm,” Dr. Jaeger leers at him. Before Jean realizes what he’s doing, he runs a gloved finger down Jean’s chest. He raises his voice. “I can see the attraction, Eren.”

Jean hears a growl from the other cage. Apparently Eren is awake. Jean hopes he can hold it together enough to not antagonize his father. They’re in an extremely vulnerable position, and they need more information before they make any aggressive moves.

“What are you planning to do with us?” he asks, in as conversational a tone as he can muster. He hopes Eren gets the message and shuts the fuck up.

Dr. Jaeger ignores the question and continues speaking to Eren. “When the helpful Mr. Braun told me about your feelings, Eren, my interest was piqued. In fact, it is one of the aspects I am very interested in studying, especially when you are both transformed.” He eyes Jean speculatively.

“The vaccine that I will be using on you, Mr. Kirstein, is not reversible. You will be permanently transformed into a super-zombie while retaining enough of your higher brain functions to be useful. This is one solution to the pernicious issue of energy demand. It is my theory that the enormous energy consumption is related in large part to the need to keep up the transformation while retaining human tissue. If the transformation is permanent, there is no need to maintain any part of the original human form; this, in turn, will significantly reduce the energy requirement. At least, that is my humble hypothesis.” There is a patently false note of self-deprecation in his voice.

Jean’s eyes widen, but he stops himself from making any noise.

“It will be most illuminating to see how Eren reacts to you as a zombie. Will his attraction persist? Or will he be disgusted? Either way, any residual feelings are sure to be… exploitable.”

More growling from the other cage. Jean scowls. Eren isn’t helping things. Not that Jean blames him. He desperately tries to calm his own fear. Dr. Jaeger said the baseline labs would be drawn later, right? So they should have at least a little bit of time to try to come up with a plan. He takes a deep breath, quelling his panic.

It would probably help to shift the conversation to more neutral territory.

“This is an incredible lab,” he says, waving his free arm around. “Did you put it together?” He hopes he’s not laying it on too thick, but he needn’t have worried. Clearly, Dr. Jaeger has an ego to match his psychotic thirst for knowledge. He answers, preening “Yes. Funded by the military, of course, and constructed with their assistance. Worth the price of the lives that were sacrificed in the process. Have you ever seen anything so glorious?” His eyes shine with an unholy fervor as he indicates the space around him.

Jean scans the room. It is, indeed, impressive. Wall-to-wall lab benches, stacked with gleaming metal equipment. Impressive, too, in a different way, are the cages – six of them. Jean shivers at the sight.

“The military has supported me from the beginning – they recruited me, in fact. The viral vaccine which produced _that,_ ” he gestures airily towards Eren, “started out as a bioweapon. Our first objective was to design a vector that could wipe out an enemy’s population single handedly. Unfortunately, despite promising early results, the vaccine did not behave as expected. In vivo, the virus was more contagious than even we wanted- even the smallest inoculation with zombie fluids, and the irreversible transformation was set in motion. Furthermore, the zombies didn’t disintegrate as they were supposed to. Instead, they seem to have a prolonged, perhaps even indefinite, lifespan.”

He smiles. “They’re called experiments for a reason. Although, it probably didn’t help that the military was breathing down my neck, demanding results. It never pays to rush things.”

Suddenly, Jean is furious. “That’s all you have to say? You unleash a zombie plague which has ravaged the world, and it’s just ‘failed experimentation’?“

“No need to take that tone with me,” says Dr. Jaeger sulkily. “Even with the unexpected degree of contagion and near-immortality of the zombies, the plague could have been halted in its tracks. The only reason it was allowed to spread so widely is that it suited the needs of some very powerful people for it to do so. Do you know how much profit there is in zombie-related industries? Billions are raked in each year on defensive manufacturing alone.”

Jean sags against the side of the cage. To think of people profiting off the death, destruction, and horror of this!

“Not that any of that concerns me. All that matters to me is that the military and I once again have a good working relationship. The Department of Defense has deep pockets- bottomless pits. I am happy to play by their rules, as long as our goals are in alignment."

“Which they are. Because the second objective was to create a super-soldier, one with inhuman strength and speed. And volia – there you have it! My finest creation!” He beams at Eren.

“But I didn't tell them about Eren, of course. Or not much, anyway. It's never a good idea to reveal too many of one's secrets. And then those idiots lost him! Allowed him to fall under the protection of the Scouts and that ridiculous captain of theirs. A grave error on their part."

"Yet I was the scapegoat for everything. Me! I was removed from my own lab, and imprisoned. They stole my notes!" He looks outraged, then his face takes on a sly expression. “But not all of them – no, not all of them. Fools!” He is really a caricature of an evil scientist come to life, Jean thinks.

“Working on their own super-soldiers taught them an important lesson.” He chuckles slightly, looking fondly at Eren. “Mr. Braun and Mr. Hoover were the best they could come up with, after much trial and error. And they have been unable to replicate even that level of success in all the years since. They know, now, how much they need me.”

He laughs again.

“Things are finally back on track. Especially now that you two have arrived.”

“How can you live with yourself?” Jean can’t help spitting out, venting some of his fury at both himself and Eren for playing into the hands of this madman.

Dr. Jaeger’s voice takes on a hard edge. “Don’t give me any of that ‘holier than thou’ attitude. All people are the same. Disgusting, selfish, slobs, each and every one of them clawing their way to their own satisfaction, heedless of the impact on anyone else. Who cares if they die?”

Jean is taken aback, both by the venom in Dr. Jaeger’s voice, and the words themselves. He turns them over in his mind. Is Dr. Jaeger right? Are people inherently selfish, amoral creatures? His mind is too stunned with his current circumstances to grapple with this weighty question, but he tries, slowly and stupidly. He thinks, ponderously, that while it’s true that everyone, on some level, _is_ focused on their own survival, that doesn’t necessarily negate their humanity, or mean they’ve abandoned the social contract. Does it? 

Jean shakes himself off this unprofitable line of thought. Why should he follow Dr. Jaeger down whatever psychotic rabbit hole he lives in? Plus, there's a shining example to the contrary right in front of him. He vividly recalls Eren’s face on the rooftop, looking towards Shiganshina, ready to run into zombie territory on his own, to do whatever it took to help end the zombie plague.

“Eren isn’t like that,” he says.

Dr. Jaeger looks thoughtful. “Now, there you might be right. Eren was always… unusual that way. Remarkably selfless, and with an unwavering belief in justice. Rather like his mother in that way.”

Jean has a sudden rush of insight and blurts, out, “You killed her, didn’t you?” _Shit!_ Why did he say that, with Eren right there?

“Now that was an unfortunate turn of events,” Dr. Jaeger muses as he busies himself setting up his machine. “She found out more than was good for her. She was going to leave me, silly girl! She had such a ridiculously simplistic escape plan. She was going to travel by train. As if I wouldn’t have been able to find them! But then she ended up being my first volunteer. I learned a good deal of valuable information from her, even though the dose was too strong. She died rather quickly, I’m afraid. Such a waste. On the other hand, I learned enough so that I could tweak things appropriately for Eren’s dose. It all worked out rather well in the end.”

Dr. Jaeger directs a stunned Jean to lie down on the table. He’s glad he doesn’t have to move as he tries to process the information that’s been so casually thrown at him. He can’t imagine what Eren is going through, hearing all this.

But the feel of the taser pressed into his neck, and the cold gel covering the probe on his chest wrench his mind back to the present

“Looking good,” says Dr. Jaeger. “All four chambers pumping nicely. No valvular defects. A healthy cardiac output. Very nice.”

He wipes off the goop and then presses in the electrodes for the EKG. It’s all very efficiently, even professionally, done.

Once he’s finished, he motions Jean to dress and head back into the cage, which he quickly locks.

“Do you have any more food?” asks Jean, amazed he has the wherewithal to ask.

“I do, of course. However, I’m not sure I want you to be eating. Then again, I do want you in peak condition for the transformation. Very well. It will be provided for you soon.”

Jean finds himself exhausted. It must be the combined effects of being drugged, kidnapped, and assaulted. Not to mention the startling and unpleasant revelations. The minute the door closes behind Dr. Jaeger, he falls onto the hard cot and is almost instantly asleep.


End file.
